Natural Products INSIDER quotes Todd Harrison on how the FDA triggered a shift from CBD to hemp extracts in dietary supplements

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Todd Harrison was quoted in Natural Products INSIDER on April 23, 2018, in an article about how, amid the escalating demand for CBD in the United States, many companies are selling "hemp extracts," which is a strategy based on regulatory and scientific considerations. Marketers of hemp extracts must distinguish their products from CBD under investigation by GW Pharmaceuticals plc, which recently announced that an FDA committee unanimously recommended supporting approval of its new drug application for Epidoilex.

According to the article, regulatory lawyers cautioned that the marketing of "hemp extracts" does not necessarily insulate a company from FDA enforcement action, especially if the CBD in a product exceeds the naturally occurring levels in the hemp plant due to the manufacturing process.

Harrison said, "When I'm talking about full spectrum, I mean full spectrum. It means that all the natural constituents of the hemp plant are in there at the same percentages as they would be found in nature. You have not manipulated the percentages at all."

Companies have used different generic language to describe hemp-based products that contain cannabinoids.

Harrison suggested labeling a product "hemp oil" would be problematic if it contained CBD.

If you went to the grocery store and took a pure hemp oil and you tested it, you wouldn’t find CBD in it, adding hemp oil derives from the seed, Harrison said.